Hi, It’s Me

Originally Astoria and Tamarack were best friends. In step 1 Tamarack is by herself and a newcomer. And Astoria likes the things Tamarack likes. So it made sense for them to be best friends. And when step 2 happens and QiuTam aren’t spending time together anymore, Astoria is naturally going to pick Tamarack over Qiu because of that bias. Plus she falls for Tamarack first.

Now in my revision, Astoria is going to like them equally. For the whole of step 1, she’s going to be platonic with both of them until the end of step one when she gets feelings for both of them at the same time (she doesn’t realize this until in between step 2 and 3). That way in step 2 she’s more conflicted on choosing between them and prefers to have both of them with her.

And of course jealousy is involved.

He doesn't mean to but he tends to confide in Ren regarding the tension. Loleus also feels that something isn't quite right with Ren and notices that he keeps him at a distance. Despite this, he considers Ren a close friend and admires and praises him even if Ren doesn't like the attention. Ren also gifted him a triforce necklace and he wears it all the time. (GB mentioned that Ren would give the MC a friendship bracelet so I changed that to the necklace haha..)

In step 2, Loleus realizes he has feelings for all 3 of them and is very conflicted. Because shouldn't he just be liking girls? Isn't that the most natural? He's struggling to maintain his relationship with all 3 because he doesn't know what he should be feeling and why it feels so wrong. It only makes it worse for him knowing that his indecisiveness is contributing to the tension between Tamarack and Qiu.

There's a lot of digital ink spilled I think about how the bulk of the Lions are confined by their obligations to their families and territories but there is one character on the Lions who is absolutely free of any familial obligation whatsoever.

And that person is Dedue.

Because his whole family is dead and so they can't expect anything of him anymore.

And the narrative is clear that this is way fucking worse in every way than having to live up to even the shittiest of Faerghus familial obligations.

Dedue is the only Lion who is completely free to do whatever he wants with absolutely no one to have expectations about what he does with his life, and it sucks for him. He has no family to expect anything of him, no friends or neighbors left who are just in his life because of where he was born, no pre-determined career path he's expected to follow, no territory and no obligations that he hasn't chosen for himself. That freedom comes at a steep, steep, steep price. The grief and horror of not having any kind of place in the world but the one he chooses is core to his character. The hatred he experiences because of being out of place and isolated from his home and the cultural fabric he was born into is a constant. Dedue wishes he still had family to expect shit of him.

He's contrasted with Catherine, who intentionally cut off her familial obligations, but Catherine has the option to go back, and places to go, and as Lorenz points out, the privilege of having been born rich and having every advantage to land the prestigious job she has. Dedue did not have any of that, and has no option to return to his family.

The point is, thematically, in the same way Gustave choosing to leave his family and pursue his own desires instead is shown by the narrative as something it was wrong for him to do, Dedue demonstrates that it's actually not so fucking great to be cut off from your family and duty and unable to go home. It reinforces the theme of the route that, sure, you could choose to defect and follow your own path but if you do that, it's going to suck in ways that you simply can't come back from. Dedue didn't make the choice to lose the social role he was born into to go to another country and make his own way in life while the people back home think he's a traitor (as evidenced in his the Duscur leader talks to him in War for the Weak) but that's the fate of characters who defect from Faerghus.

(beginnings & always and now & forever)

Lizzie has an valley girl accent

Cove in a pool is going to be underwater all of the time. And complain that calm water is boring and he'd rather be on the ocean because he likes the waves.

Lizzie is a lesbian, change my mind.

Lee has had a 1D/Larry phase and was a MASSIVE fanfic reader.

Baxter's pan awakening (aside from Qiu) was Gerard Way or Brandon Urie

Tammy, Qiu and MC would play Minecraft and Roblox together

Lee is an obvious The Sims 4 player, and would have a ton of mods and CCs. Liz too, maybe. Hell, she even becomes an architect.

Cove would listen to Elvis unironically.

Derek watches anime. His faves are shonen ones like JJK and CSM but i can see him enjoying shoujo romances.

Terry has massive shitposter/ragebaiter energy, he would ear these memes up lmao.

Baxter's favorite MCR album is The Black Parade. It even suits his monochrome aesthetic.

Tammy defo watches baking channels on YouTube and tries the recipes out.

Tammy and Miranda would get along so well i can see it so muchhh

Derek is a gentle giant and gets so annoyed when people assume he's doping. My bro's muscles are NATURAL.

Lizzie had a tumblr phase.

I can see Cliff enjoying marijuana ... and Kyra...

Qiu as well... dream blunt rotation

Baxter has healed scars from piercing snake bites he got in his emo phase when he felt more rebellious. Step 4 Baxter would still put on some makeup and dress up if the MC wanted him to.

Qiu, Renee and Baxter used to play with pokemon cards when they were kids

Tammy would listen to Clairo, Beabadoobee, mxmtoon... it just suits her so much

infold thinks you are a joke and if you give in now, you will do exactly what they want. they want you to shut up and log in and reactivate your aurum pass and have a look at the rerun shop and buy their packs. that’s what they EXPECT you to do, so don’t do it 🫤

i’d like to imagine that the government intervention has left them hesitant to put out a statement with definite answers, but they have to know that the longer they’re silent, the worse it’ll get.

i’m not giving up hope, i won’t until we get a statement from them, and maybe even after that.

this is larger than valko, we have been advocating for so much change in the game. do not give in and let them sweep us under the rug AGAIN!!!!

In past years I posted excerpts from the Declaration of Independence on July 4. But I’m not feeling it this year.

I am old enough to remember the Bicentennial observations in 1976. There were celebrations and commemorative events around the country, not just in Washington. Most notable was the flotilla of tall ships sailing into New York’s harbor. There were historical programs, “Bicentennial minutes” on TV, and decorations on local public buildings and fixtures, right down to red-white-and-blue fire hydrants. At noon on July 4 we went out on the streets and rang bells.

The mood of the country is different now. There are fewer events for America’s 250th birthday and the crowds are smaller.

That’s not to say things were better in the United States 50 years ago. The divisions of the Vietnam War years had not healed. There were plenty of people who thought that some Americans should be second-class citizens based on the color of their skin or their gender. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people could rarely live their lives publicly. Transsexuals (the term used at the time) were even more oppressed.

But in some important ways things are worse today. There are many who maintain that some Americans shouldn’t be Americans at all, based on where their ancestors came from, how they speak, or how they worship. The gains that racial minorities, women, and LGBT people have made since 1976 are uncertain and under threat. And there are still those who think their wealth buys them more privileges than everyone else.

When I quote from the Declaration, I have to omit the slur against the so-called savage Indians, which decries their cruelty in warfare, when in fact everyone is cruel in war. And I have to talk around the fact that many of the men who signed it were slaveholders and the rest condoned slavery. When they said that all men are created equal, they really meant free white men, primarily landowners. But they used broad, general terms for their stirring rhetoric. Later generations found inspiration in what they wrote that went beyond what they really thought at the time.

So this year I am quoting from a later and much shorter document, the Pledge of Allegiance. Its last line, “with liberty and justice for all,” has never been a true description of what we actually have in America. But it is a plainly stated, unqualified goal that we should strive for.

like at this point they’re genuinely taking the piss what tf do you mean you completely scrapped the only thing that brought any fresh wind into this otherwise really monotone game.

Anyways! HERE'S YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO WHAT CAN COUNT AS EYESTRAIN! I'm pulling this straight from the Artfight rules page about what needs to be labeled and filtered as eyestrain because it's VERY helpful and VERY accurate! I also know not everybody has an AF account and might not always have access to this handy guide, and this is an important resource; That's why I'm sharing it here! (under the cut)

PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!!! THIS IS ABOUT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OTHERS!!!

Feel free to use them for artfight and such!

The barcode spells out "gayy".

The id number is the demo drop date, but feel free to change it!